Dear Editor,
In my nearly seventy years of following political, racial and economic discourse in Guyana, I have never seen something as disturbing as I saw this week. I saw several members of the Guyana diaspora take to social media to incite their followers to boycott hard working African Guyanese, living and working in the diaspora. These same rabble rousers that have mercilessly accused the government of not creating black jobs, now want to terminate African jobs on their own. The alleged “crime” of the black businesses was to simply meet with the visiting President of Guyana.
Last year, on a visit to Brooklyn, my brother took me several times to the restaurant businesses in question. The owners and workers of these establishments are hardworking. They work up to fourteen hours per day, seven days a week. They have likely taken loans and undertaken risks to establish their businesses. In my conversations with them, they were the nicest and most patriotic people I met during my visit. While they cater to mostly black, West Indian customers, they also have a lot of Indian customers as well. Should they have risked the wrath of the Indian demographic by boycotting the President? No, they did what most prudent businesses would do, and cater to ALL customers. And for this, their fellow African Guyanese would like to vigorously punish them.
During Burnham’s time in power, I have never seen any Indian, Chinese or Portuguese call for a boycott of their own, for patronizing the government or Burnham. Today, Indian Chinese and Portuguese businesses are flourishing while African businesses are lagging far behind. And if these race hustlers have their way, African businesses will be further diminished. The silence of this outrage has been revolting. What is the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, civil society groups, Red Thread (women are alleged to be the owners of these businesses) and elders in the political spectrum waiting for? Common decency demands that your voice be heard.
The only person who has the political fortitude and patriotic muster to speak out against this outrage is Comrade Jermaine Figueira. Without fear and favour, Mr. Figueira is rapidly establishing himself as the voice of reason and a pillar of integrity in our new Guyana. Last night, I attended a wake for an Indian co-worker from many years ago. Most of the Indian brothers extended admiration for Mr. Figueira for his boldness in denouncing hate. The Guyanese people are not stupid, and they know leadership and courage when they see it.
In July, I will be visiting Brooklyn once again. When my brother picks me up at the airport, I will have one request from him: “Quick, as fast as you can, take me to the restaurants that they are boycotting.”
Sincerely,
Herbert Allen
